Love Never Dies: Celeb 'phans' turn out for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical sequel

By Ben Todd and Katie Glass

Acting up: Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page and, right, West End star Sheridan Smith attend the premiere of Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London


As the most popular musical ever made, it was always going to be a tough act to follow.

But even so-called 'phans' of Phantom Of The Opera are in uproar over Lord Lloyd-Webber's sequel, branding it 'illogical, irrational, offensive and frankly stupid'.

Last night Love Never Dies had its West End premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in central London, which was attended by a host of stars, including Sheridan Smith, Joanna Page and Trinny Woodall.

The show is arguably the most eagerly anticipated musical ever.

However, die-hard Phantom fans, who turned Lord Lloyd-Webber into one of Britain's richest men and were salivating at the prospect of a sequel, have been left bitterly disappointed by previews.

And clearly irked by their criticism, Lord Lloyd-Webber has hit back saying they are ‘a sad culture' of people 'who live only by the old Phantom of the Opera'


Dressing for the occasion: Trinny Woodall turned up in low-cut ivory dress


His comments came after some devotees said it should be called Paint Never Dries and others set up a Facebook group called Love Should Die as a platform to voice their animosity.

Their mission statement reads: 'We feel strongly that Love Never Dies is a completely misguided venture that is a detriment to the story of the original The Phantom of the Opera novel and musical of the same name.

‘Virtually everything about the show strikes us as illogical, irrational, offensive and frankly stupid.'


The big night: Lord Lloyd-Webber and third wife Lady Madeleine and their children Alastair, 17, William, 16, and daughter Isabella, 13

As a result of their words, it appears 61-year-old Lord Lloyd-Webber - who has a fortune estimated to be worth £750million - has turned against them.

But as he arrived at the premiere last night, Lord Lloyd-Webber refused to be drawn on the controversy. He said: 'I am looking forward to the show. It's great to have my family with me.'


He said the production was 'an expensive show' and revealed that producers will need to make £30million just to break even. However, he also revealed the show has now taken £10million in advance bookings.

Lord Lloyd-Webber was joined by his current wife Madeleine and their children Alastair, 17, William, 16, and daughter Isabella, 13.

His daughter Imogen, 32, from his first marriage with Sarah Hugill was also on the red carpet, as was his younger brother Julian.

Phantom Of The Opera, which premiered in 1986, has gone on to be the world’s most successful musical. To date, it has been seen by more than 100 million fans. It has generated around £3.3billion for Lord Lloyd-Webber's Really Useful Group.

But loyal Phantom fans are not the only people attacking the show.


Since the beginning of previews for the play - which is set in Manhattan in 1907 a decade after the original story - a series of vitriolic verdicts have been given on the musical, with one Internet site labelling the show Paint Never Dries.

In the new musical, the Phantom – now played by Ramin Karimloo - has escaped to New York with Madame and Meg Giry and found success in the fairgrounds of Coney Island as a magician and entertainer.

When he builds a new opera house, he persuades his old ingenue Christine Daae (Sierra Boggess) now a huge star and married to her old flame Raoul, to sing for him once more.

Scott Matthewman, assistant editor of renowned theatre journal The Stage, was the first person to review the show, immediately after the first preview performance on February 22 - two days after the original preview show had been cancelled.

Using his Twitter account, he wrote simply: ‘Love Never Dies = S*** Never Flushes. Just Awful.’

On the What’s On Stage? website an astonishing 87-pages of comments have been made on the sequel - and they have not made pleasant reading for Lord Lloyd-Webber, with three times more negative reviews than positive ahead of last night’s official premiere.

One reviewer wrote: ‘The set is cheap... the story is a bit stupid... I didn't particularly care who lived or died. I just wanted to go catch the train home.’

Another said: 'The performances were great, that I can't fault, but the book must have been scribbled on the back of an envelope, it was so predictable and lame.’

And there have been other setbacks in the build-up to the opening night.


Lady in red: Arlene Phillips went scarlet while, right, actress Elaine Paige appeared to be in high spirits


When he first announced the sequel in December 2008, Lord Lloyd-Webber said the show would premiere on three continents simultaneously – in London, New York and Shanghai.

But by last October, when the date of the world premiere of the show was made public, plans had been scaled back to more traditional theatrical models.

The show would open initially in London before Broadway followed soon after. Shanghai was then replaced by Australia.


Waiting to be entertained: Michael Caine and wife Shakira


Night out: Scottish actor Gerard Butler and TV presenter Graham Norton

The negativity surrounding the show comes after Lord Lloyd-Webber battled back to health.

It was less than five months ago that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and immediately had surgery.

In mid-January, he announced he had been given the all-clear.

But that left him with less than two months to prepare for, arguably, his most important professional event since Phantom Of The Opera premiered more than 23 years before.


Phillip Schofield and his wife Stephanie and, right, Cilla Black poses with Duncan James, who is currently starring alongside Sheridan Smith in Legally Blonde


Evening at the theatre: Chris Evans with his wife Natasha Shishmanian
REVIEW by Quentin LettsLove Never Dies, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Adelphi Theatre

Love may never die but West End shows will come perilously close to disaster unless they have some oompf and bongo — and preferably a decent tune — in the first 15 minutes.

Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to Phantom Of The Opera, is as slow to motor as a lawnmower at spring’s first cut.

It doesn’t really smoke into life until the 20th minute and even then it splutters for a while. Finally, the singing and the ingenious staging combine to show the Lloyd Webber orchestration to its full glory, but, boy, it takes an age.


Lloyd Webber takes a bow during the curtain call, seen here with Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine and, right, Summer Strallen

The story makes assumptions. It assumes that theatregoers are familiar with the story of ‘Phantom’ and the love triangle between diva Christine Daaé, her handsome husband Raoul and the mysterious, masked Phantom (here played efficiently but, well, just a little facelessly by Ramin Karimloo).

It also assumes that we understand the attraction these two dullards have for the beautiful Christine. Could she do no better?

That core justification — the romantic gubbins — is badly lacking. In the end you conclude that she simply seeks out suffering to improve her art.


The composer shares an after-show hug with Christine and the Phantom


Last time Lloyd Webber fans saw the Phantom he narrowly escaped being lynched. Now he is a reclusive impresario (do such creatures exist?) in New York’s Coney Island.

He anonymously offers Christine a large fee to cross the Atlantic from France with hard-drinking Raoul (Joseph Millson) and her son Gustave.

The first scene is memorable only for an expensive backdrop of the Coney Island shore, with exaggerated perspective and projections of a horse dancing through smoke.

There is repeated use of this technique: moving images thrown on to a gauze screen at the front of the stage. It may be clever but it has little to do with dramatic art and can not compensate for the lack of solid story-telling. There is altogether far too much bouncing about.

Sierra Boggess, as Christine, is the production’s great joy — its show saver. She has a soprano of porcelain precision and her scene 4 duet with 10-year-old Gustave (excellent Harry Child), brushed by harp, is the first of three quick songs which rescue the evening


We are left in no doubt about the bond between daughter and son. Pity the same devotion is lacking between Christine and her lovers.

Spectacle is plentiful: Coney Island fair girls with vast peacock dresses, a quayside backdrop with ocean liners’ prows at fantastic angles, and a horror-movie style lair for the Phantom. This has a tremendous chandelier of singing human heads with serpent hair, as well as a skeleton with stockinged, female legs. But still the thing lacks human connection.

The Entr’acte asserts Lloyd Webber at his most soupily sumptuous and the second half is far better. His music crests in a breaking chord when Christine is staring into her dressing-room mirror, trying to decide between her loves.

Then comes the show's biggest number: Christine on stage at the Phantom’s theatre, with Miss Boggess so back-lit that the downy hairs on her arms are accentuated.


The title song here may have been used before in The Beautiful Game but it claims its rightful place here.

The night ends with a death scene so long that it may only reignite the euthanasia debate.

So: a hit? Not quite. It is too much an also-ran to the prequel, and its opening is too stodgy. But if it is a miss, it is — like Christine — a noble miss, noble because Lloyd Webber’s increasingly operatic music tries to lift us to a higher plane.


Phantom's back: Karimloo in character as the Phantom and Boggess as Christine



source: dailymail